The Granada Hills Holiday Parade: Holidays Of The Sixties!




They mean this sixties





Not this one
This Sunday at 1:30 p.m. will be my very favorite occasion on Granada Hills calendar: The Granada Hills Holiday Parade!

I'm not really sure why I love this parade so much; it's certainly not because it's a thrilling entertainment spectacle. Last year, halfway through the lengthy event, my kids put down their comic books and said, "Mom, can we go home now?"

As kids, I suppose they just don't find it compelling to watch groups of other kids walk down the street, no matter how adorable their matching outfits are. They also don't have the sentimental attachments to the parade that I do; they don't have any cherished memories of rollerskating down Chatsworth Street in a Brownie uniform back in the days when the parade was held in the Fall and called the "Youth In Action Parade." And their hearts don't yet swell with hometown pride when they reflect on the fact that Granada Hills is one of the few towns round these parts that's -- what's the word I'm looking for: hokey? corny? sentimental? family-oriented? -- enough to even consider putting on such an event.

"What's unique about the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce is that it's one of those chambers that's not just a business chamber," says John Chiccarelli, parade chairman. "It goes to great lengths to represent the interest of residents, homeowners, and all elements of the community, which not all chambers necessarily do. Most of them primarily represent the businesses. We're more of a total community chamber. So the chamber underwrites the parade to promote goodwill. We've had over 50,000 children that have marched in that parade, and we have some instances, starting over the last few years, where we have parents who were in the parade as children now bringing their children into the parade."

"We have a lot of great car clubs, large groups, Tournament-of-Roses-quality equestrian units," Chiccarelli says, "but the main focus is those Brownie troops, those Little Leagues, those soccer teams, the service clubs," "It's really kind of an old-fashioned community parade, and it's the largest holiday parade in the San Fernando Valley."

Chiccarelli, who has been in charge of the parade since 1983, recalls just one minor mishap in the parade's history. "In the first year I chaired the parade, I remember someone knew a soap opera actress who was willing to be Grand Marshall of the parade, so I said yes. In passing, I told my mother the name of this person, but my Italian mother said, 'Are you kidding me? She plays a prostitute! She's the villain, the homewrecker!' So anyway, we had the day of the parade, and here's this lady waving to the kids. I don't think we got any complaints, but there must have been people in the back of their minds thinking, 'What is this?' I've never been able to live it down with my family."

For those who read this story and think, she's just an actress playing a role, so what's the big deal? imagine Kim Cattrall from "Sex And The City" serving as Grand Marshall and you'll see the problem.

Speaking of potential mishaps, how about that theme, "Holidays of the Sixties"? Any Black Panthers marching in the parade this year?

"I think we took it the other way, more with fun, like the Beach Boys, The Beatles, the moon landing. Those are some of the suggestions that we included in the cover letter, so I think everyone knows you have to do it in a fun and good way. It's a family parade, a kids parade," Chiccarelli says. "We pick a theme each year just to make it a little more fun and give it an added element."

Okay everybody, you heard the man: let's have a clean parade. After all, this is Granada Hills.


Comments

  1. Linda & All:

    This parade brings out a lot of people to our great community and I hope everyone can make it Rain or Shine. The Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council will be having a float in the parade and has sponsored the parade awards. I would also like to extend an invitation to everyone to Attend the Tree Lighting Ceremony that is scheduled after the end of the Parade at the Famous tree at Veteran's Triangle. Hope to see you all there.

    Sean Rivas
    Outreach Chair
    Granada Hills South NC

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our family has lived in Granada Hills for 11 yrs. now and the first year we moved here was just before the parade and it was freezing cold outside, but we endured and watched the whole thing. The next year, my daughter was a Daisy Girl Scout and we entered our troop into the parade, the theme was Christmas in California. The girls were Palm Trees riding in the back of a gardener truck and me and the Leaders were Hollywood Starlets on foot and it was 90 degrees. Our troop since walked in the parade every year except 1 and we've received trophies every year. We enjoyed being creative and coming up with "out of the box" ideas and were rewarded for it. My husband's PT Cruiser club have won the full 9 years they've been in it and has lead the parade an unprecedented 5 years. (I think that's right) Yes, it's a small town parade, but it's happy and fun and short (1.7 miles) and joyous because we live in the town and we're proud. This year was the first year my daughter and I actually got to watch the whole parade and not be in it. It reminded me of our first time...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Archive: Master of Pirates

Thoughts on Joe's Cafe and cancel culture

Starlet Visits Granada Hills!